The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will mark up its portion of the GOP megabill Wednesday, and one Republican on the panel is already coming out against it.
In a statement Tuesday, Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio said he would vote against his committee’s contribution to the party-line package to enact President Donald Trump’s policy agenda, noting his opposition to provisions that would slash employee benefits as a way of offsetting the cost of the larger legislation.
“I oppose any and all efforts to reduce federal spending by taking money from the hard-earned pensions of federal workers. These pensions are not giveaways — they are promises to federal workers in exchange for their dedicated service,” Turner said. “I will not support and will not vote for the House Oversight Committee’s current draft proposal reducing earned pension benefits for current federal employees.”
The Oversight panel has been tasked with a deficit reduction target of $50 billion, which much of those savings expected to come from major changes to how federal employment works.